Westlake fire department erects Wall of Honor

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, November 22, 2007

Westlake Volunteer Fire Department has chosen to recognize its firefighters and paramedics and their family members who are serving in the military by displaying their photos on a Wall of Honor.

The wall includes a photo of Fire Chief Mark Palmer's 19-year-old nephew, who recently graduated from U.S. Army boot camp. There are also photos of Asst. Fire Chief John Burleson's son, brother-in-law and nephews.

Flags from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps hang below a U.S. flag draped over the board. A black-and-white photo of a Vietnam veteran and Westlake's oldest member, Jerry Tigert, is also displayed.

For Palmer, the Wall of Honor was a necessary addition to the station.

"I think we do not honor our military as much as we should," Palmer said. "Regardless of how you stand on the war, these brave men and women are the ones that give us the freedom to do whatever we want here in the States."

'Worrying' the hardest part

Tim Wagers, 41, a firefighter and paramedic at Westlake for eight years, has only one word to describe the most difficult part of having his twin brother, Tommy Wagers, serving in Iraq: "Worrying."

Since September, Tommy, a U.S. Navy medical corpsman, is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. Tim said his brother is assigned to a Marine helicopter squadron. In the past, he has assisted doctors with surgeries.

"During the first time my brother was over there, there was no community so the only thing we got was a letter every now and then," Tim said. "But now that he's on a base he has access to e-mail regularly."

That correspondence helps ease some of the worry, but Tim said his brother is missed during the holidays. Tim is helping prepare a Christmas care package of goodies that will be sent to Tommy, who is from Brenham and has three children and two stepchildren.

While it's not easy having his brother away, Tim said he's thankful for Tommy's dedication and service to the country. In the Navy for 16 years, Tommy always considered joining the military even as a child, Tim said.

"When we were kids, my brother-in-law was in the Navy and he talked about it," Tim said. "When (Tommy) decided to enlist, it wasn't too big of a surprise."

Dreams of being a Marine

As a child, Sean Chandler dreamed of being a U.S. Marine. When he enlisted at 19, his mother Marilyn Chandler had some encouraging words for her son.

"I said to him, 'There are not many 19 year olds out in the world who are living their dream,' " said Marilyn, director of accounts at Westlake. "He was so excited, but he's always wanted to be a Marine. He knew that."

Having served in Iraq for four years, Chandler, 23, is stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina waiting to be deployed to the Middle East in March.

He's already been to Iraq two times with the Marine's special operations unit and recently re-enlisted, Marilyn said.

The reason he voluntarily decides to serve his country, Marilyn said, is to continue helping the people in Iraq and protecting America.

"It's different what the news reports than what they report — it is so different," Marilyn said. "Good is happening over there, even if it doesn't get reported. That's why they continue to keep going back and fighting."

Even though she's thankful for her son's commitment to his country, Marilyn said she has one concern.

"Missing his family growing up," said Marilyn, adding that Sean has a 2-year-old son and infant daughter. "But they signed up to go protect this country and that in itself is such an honorable gift that we take for granted."

Family will be missed

Rob Miller
, a full-time paramedic, said his wife, Katey, and five children depend on him a lot, especially when it comes to mealtime.

"I do a lot of the cooking at the house," said Miller, who splits his work time between Westlake and Houston fire departments.

But next May, Miller, 38, is likely to find himself flying on a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq as part of the Army National Guard's medical evacuation mission.

"I've been in (the military) a long time," said Miller, who will serve his first one-year tour of duty. "I missed Desert Storm in '89 — I missed a lot of things so I'm looking forward to this."

In the military 20 years, Miller said he's been training with the pilots in his unit for about five years. As a MEDEVAC crew member, Miller treats wounded soldiers.

But leaving for Iraq will be difficult.

"My wife depends on me a lot — we have an autistic daughter who can't do anything for herself," said Miller, who has four children and a newborn son. "That's the only thing I'm concerned about — not being there for my wife to help out with the kids. I'll miss my kids."